The Great Basin collared lizard (''Crotaphytus bicinctores''), also known commonly as the desert collared lizard or the Mojave black-collared lizard, is a

species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

lizard Lizard is the common name used for all Squamata, squamate reptiles other than snakes (and to a lesser extent amphisbaenians), encompassing over 7,000 species, ranging across all continents except Antarctica, as well as most Island#Oceanic isla ...

in the

family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

Crotaphytidae The Crotaphytidae, or collared lizards, are a family (biology), family of desert-dwelling reptiles native to the Southwestern United States and northern Mexico. Alternatively they are recognized as a subfamily, Crotaphytinae, within the clade Ple ...

. The species is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also foun ...

to the

Western United States The Western United States (also called the American West, the Western States, the Far West, the Western territories, and the West) is List of regions of the United States, census regions United States Census Bureau. As American settlement i ...

Description

''C. bicinctores'' is very similar to the

common collared lizard The common collared lizard (''Crotaphytus collaris''), also Common name, commonly called eastern collared lizard,Robert C. Stebbins, Stebbins RC (2003). ''A Field Guide to Western Reptiles and Amphibians, Third Edition''. The Peterson Field Guid ...

, ''Crotaphytus collaris'', in shape and size, but it lacks the bright extravagant colors. Males can be brown to orange and some red or pink on the belly. Females are more black or dark brown. ''C. bicintores'' has elongated scales near the claws, and the tail is more triangular in shape than round as with ''C. collaris''. xiii + 533 pp., 56 plates, 39 figures, 204 maps. (''Crotaphytus bicinctores'', pp. 272-273 + Plate 27 + Map 85). ''C. bicinctores'' has a broad head, large hind legs, and derives its

specific name Specific name may refer to: * in Database management systems, a system-assigned name that is unique within a particular database In taxonomy, either of these two meanings, each with its own set of rules: * Specific name (botany), the two-part (bino ...

from the pair of black bands on the neck. Males have broader heads than females, with a dark-colored throat and more pronounced orange crossbands on the body. Adults range in size from in snout-to-vent length (SVL), with a thick tail that is often twice as long as the body.

Geographic range and habitat

The Great Basin collared lizard is endemic to the Western United States, and is found in

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

, most of

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a landlocked state in the Western United States. It borders Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. Nevada is the seventh-most extensive, th ...

, southeastern

Oregon Oregon ( , ) is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is a part of the Western U.S., with the Columbia River delineating much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while t ...

, southern

Idaho Idaho ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest and Mountain states, Mountain West subregions of the Western United States. It borders Montana and Wyoming to the east, Nevada and Utah to the south, and Washington (state), ...

, and the western regions of

Utah Utah is a landlocked state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is one of the Four Corners states, sharing a border with Arizona, Colorado, and New Mexico. It also borders Wyoming to the northea ...

and

Arizona Arizona is a U.S. state, state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States, sharing the Four Corners region of the western United States with Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. It also borders Nevada to the nort ...

. It is usually found in rocky regions of arid deserts, and is most common in desert scrub and desert wash habitats. It is widely distributed throughout the Mojave, Sonoran, and southeastern

Great Basin The Great Basin () is the largest area of contiguous endorheic watersheds, those with no outlets to the ocean, in North America. It spans nearly all of Nevada, much of Utah, and portions of California, Idaho, Oregon, Wyoming, and Baja Californi ...

deserts.

Diet

''C. bicinctores'' eats primarily arthropods, but will also use its powerful jaws to eat small vertebrates including lizards, snakes, and rodents. It has been known to occasionally consume plant matter.

Description

Geographic range and habitat

Diet

References

Further reading